Roll wrapping machine

ABSTRACT

A machine for wrapping rolls of coiled sheet material with heatshrinkable wrapper sheeting, sections of which are wrapped around each of said coiled rolls of material in a loose condition and sealed axially along the length of the roll, the machine including heating means extending longitudinally of the path of movement of the loosely wrapped roll after it leaves the wrapperapplying station of the machine and operable to shrink one or more portions of the loose wrapper into contiguous relationship with the roll at one or more selected positions spaced longitudinally along said roll, thereby preventing uncoiling of said material upon the rolls incident to the loose wrapping on the rolls ultimately being subjected to heat-shrinking along substantially the entire length of the sealed wrapper.

United States Patent [19 1 Elsner et al.

[ Feb. 18, 1975 ROLL WRAPPING MACHINE [75] Inventors: Bertram F. Elsner;Frank Elsner,

Jr., both of Hanover, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Elsner Engineering Works, Inc.,

Hanover, Pa.

{22] Filed: Apr. 30, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 465,676

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-in-part of Ser. No.358,582, May 9,

1973, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl 53/76, 53/182, 53/184 [51] Int. Cl B65b 57/12 [58] Field ofSearch 53/76, 182, 184, 198 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,523,402 8/1970 West et al. 53/198 R 3,775,939 12/1973 Elsneret al. 1. 53/198 R Primary ExaminerTravis S. McGehee Attorney, Agent, orFirmC. Hercus Just ABSTRACT A machine for wrapping rolls of coiled sheetmaterial with heat-shrinkable wrapper sheeting, sections of which arewrapped around each of said coiled rolls of material in a loosecondition and sealed axially along the length of the roll, the machineincluding heating means extending longitudinally of the path of movementof the loosely wrapped roll after it leaves the wrapper-applying stationof the machine and operable to shrink one or more portions of the loosewrapper into contiguous relationship with the roll at one or moreselected positions spaced longitudinally along said roll, therebypreventing uncoiling of said material upon the rolls incident to theloose wrapping on the rolls ultimately being subjected to heat-shrinkingalong substantially the entire length of the sealed wrapper.

14 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTED FEB] 8 I975 SHEEI 10F 5 IPATENTEBFEBI 81975 SHEET 20F 5 PATENTEB FEB I 81% ROLL WRAPPING MACHINEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application is a continuation-in-partof application, Ser. No. 358,582, filed May 9, 1973, and now abandanned.

One of the continuing problems involved in handling rolls of coiledsheet material wound in a roll is to retain the sheet coiled duringhandling. A well-understood and frequently used method to accomplishthis by other than static means (tape or glue) is to rotate the coiledroll of material in a direction to maintain it coiled while being moved.

Even though coiled rolls of sheet material may have been stabilized toprevent uncoiling thereof, as by the dynamic rotating techniquedescribed immediately above, applying a wrapper to such rolls presentsanother difficult problem; namely, the cover must intercept the totalwidth of the path of movement of the roll without interfering with themovement itself or releasing the roll for uncoiling.

The present invention provides a means for directly applying a wrapperto a coiled roll of sheet material while maintaining it in a coiledcondition, thereby decreasing the investment in equipment, as well assaving time in handling of the roll, and also thereby additionallydecreasing operating costs, particularly in regard to packaginggift-wrapping types of sheet material and the like. Details of anexemplary machine to accomplish such benefits are set forth hereinafter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of the presentinvention to provide a machine adapted, for example, directly to receivefrom a re-wind machine, one at a time, coiled rolls of sheet materialand move the same to a wrapperapplying unit while maintaining each rollin fully coiled condition, the wrapper-applying unit disposing a sectionof heat-shrinkable synthetic resin wrapper material around the coiledrolls in somewhatloose condition but sealed axially along the length ofeach roll as each is sequentially presented to said wrapper-applyingunit, and heating means being arranged to apply heat to one or moreportions of said loosely applied wrapper and thereby being operable toshrink said portion or portions of the same into engagement with thecylindrical surface of the coiled roll of material in a manner toprevent uncoiling of the same, notwithstanding the fact that otherportions of substantial length of the wrapper are loose, whereby eachloosely wrapped roll may be conveyed to temporary storage or directly toadditional heat-shrinking means in which the entire wrapper is shrunkinto contiguous engagement with the entire length of the tightly coiledroll of material.

Another object of the invention is to provide the machine with conveyormeans operable to advance the coiled rolls in spaced relationship toeach other while rotating the same in a direction to prevent uncoilingof the rolls, for delivery to said wrapper-applying unit in which anarrow stationary support is located just past the relatively movableanvil and heating jaws which preferably move in a vertical plane,whereby each roll is supported stationarily while a wrapper along itsentire length is being loosely applied around the same and sealedaxially along the length of'the roll by said jaws, the machine alsoincluding an additional conveyor operable to remove the loosely wrappedroll from the wrapper-applying unit and continuing to rotate the samewhile said aforementioned portions of said wrapper are subjected to heatto shrink said sections of restricted length into contiguous engagementwith the rolls to prevent uncoiling of the same.

A further object of the invention is to provide said conveyors withelongated stationary means parallel thereto and defining spaces alongwhich each roll is rotated as aforesaid, the end of said stationaryelongated means which is associated with the second conveyor extendinglongitudinally so as to have portions positioned above said narrowsupport and cooperating therewith to hold each roll, sequentially, whilethe heat-shrinkable wrapper is being applied therearound along itsentire length and sealed axially along its entire length in loosecondition, prior to the next consecutive roll being moved intowrapper-applying position in said unit and thereby urging said precedingloosely wrapped roll into engagement with the receiving end of saidsecond movable conveyor, and thus, inititating continued rotation of thesame past said heating means to shrink said portions of the wrapper.

Still another object of the invention is to accelerate the movement ofeach coiled roll of said material from said first conveyor to thesupported position thereof upon said stationary support by means ofoscillating arms, the pivots of which are located above or below saidfirst conveyor adjacent said wrapper-applying unit, the lower ends ofsaid arms being adapted to engage said rolls at longitudinally spacedlocations therealong to prevent skewing of the rolls when introduced tosaid wrapper-applying unit, said arms being moved in rolladvancingdirection while the anvil and heating jaws are separated to permitpassing a coiled roll thercbetween and onto said stationary support,said arms immediately then being moved to retracted position to permitclosing of the jaws to seal the wrapper.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fluid-operatedcylinder unit located appropriately and respectively to reciprocate saidanvil and heating jawsv relative to each other and also to actuate saidrollmoving arms which project each roll into the wrapperapplying unit,control means for said units being provided to operate the same insequence and also permit the anvil and heating jaws to remain a short,but nevertheless, definite length of time abutted which is adequate toeffect sealing of a section of the heatshrinkable wrapper sheet axiallyalong the entire length of each coiled roll of material, sever thesealed wrapper from the supply of wrapper sheeting, and reconstitute thesevered ends of the sheeting material respectively fed from two supplyrolls thereof into a continuous sheet extending across the path ofmovement of the next oncoming roll and intercepted thereby when saidoncoming roll is moved onto said stationary support for application of awrapper therearound and along its entire length, all of such operationsbeing accomplished automatically by suitable relay and timing mechanismincorporated in the control means.

Details of the foregoing objects and of the invention, as well as otherobjects thereof, are set forth in the following specification andillustrated in the accompanying drawings comprising a part thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of anexemplary machine embodying the principles of the present invention.

ure also illustrating somewhat diagrammatically certain elements of theactuating and control mechanism for said arm means, said arm means beingshown in full lines and phantom respectively in different operativepositions thereof.

FIG. is a fragmentary, foreshortened vertical elevation illustrating themechanism shown in FIG. 4 as seen substantially along the line55-thereof.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary, fragmentary side elevation showing a row ofcoiled material in process of having a wrapper applied therearound, theanvil and heating jaws being spaced in said view to permit passage ofthe roll therebetween.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 but showing said jaws in sealing andsevering engagement with each other following application of the wrapperaround a coiled roll of said material. A

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of a roll of material having afragmentary portion of a heat-shrinkable wrapper applied loosely theretoand illustrating a shrunken limited section of said wrapper contractedinto substantially contiguous engagement with the coiled roll to preventuncoiling thereof in accordance with the principles of the invention.

I FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the right hand portion of themachine as viewed in FIG. 2 and illustrating another exemplary positionof the film shrinking members relative to the path of movement of therolls around which wrappers have been applied.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary view of foreshortened roll having a wrapperapplied thereto by the heater arrangement shown in FIG. 9 and in whichthe end portending frame members 24, best shown in FIG. 2, the inner endof said frame 22 supporting a pair of similar sheaves 26 and the inletend of said'frame 22 having a transverse horizontal plate 28 extendingbetween the frame members 24 and adapted to receive coiled rolls ofsheet material 30 from any suitable means such as a re-wind machine ofconventional type.

The forward ends of the frame members 24 also support additional guidesheaves 32 which are similar in size to the sheaves 26. Endless flexiblefeed belts 34 move along the upper surfaces of the frame members 24 andaround the sheaves 26 and 32. Referring to FIG. 1, it will be seen thateach belt also extends around a drive sheave 36 and a tensioning idlersheave 38 mounted on the outer end of a' pivoted arm 40 which extends inopposition to another arm 42 to which one end of atensioning spring 44isconnected, the opposite end being connected to the upright framemember 18 i as shown FIG. 1.

Overhead longitudinal frame members 56 are mounted parallel to and abovethe upper courses of the tions of the wrapper have been shrunk toprevent uncoiling of the roll therein.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary end view of the roll shown in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3 in particular, themachine comprising the present invention is composed ofa base frame 10from which several pairs of upright plates 12 and 14 extend tosubstantially the same height, at opposite sides of the machine, saidplates having horizontal frame plates 16 connected to the upper ends ofopposite pairs ofthe plates 12 and 14, as shown in FIG. 1. Adjacent theinlet end of the machine, the frame also comprises additionalshorterupright members 18, respectively at opposite sides of the machinefor purposes of supporting additional horizontal side members 20connected to the upper ends of the members 18 and to appropriatelocations on the upright plates 12.

A first conveyor frame 22 extends from the inlet end of the machine,adjacent the left-hand end as viewed in FIG. 1, and extends horizontallyinward suvstantially to the upright side plates 12. Said frame 22, asviewed in FIG. 2, has a width substantially less than that of the entiremachine and comprises a pair of longitudinally exfeed belts 34comprising inlet conveyor means. The frame members 56 havelongitudinally extending stationary plates 58 supported thereby inparallel relationship to the upper courses of the feed belts 34, thelower surface of the plates 58 preferably having strips of compressiblematerial 60 extending therealong as best shown in FIG. 1, the samecomprising sponge rubber or similar material. The purpose of the strips60 is to afford frictional engagement by the coiled rolls of mate- Irial 30 as the same are moved by the upper courses of the belts 34 whichtravel in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1 toward thewrapper-applying unit 62 located adjacent the inner end of the uppercourses of belts 34, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

The overhead frame members 56 preferably are vertically adjustable alimited extent in order to accommodate rolls 30 of a limited range ofdifferent diameters. Suitable conventional adjustable means, details ofwhich are not shown, connect said frame members 56 and the elementscarried thereby with respect to upright frame members 64 and 66 whichare shown in exemplary manner in FIG. 1 and extend upward from thelongitudinal frame members 24 which support the feed belts 34. Verticaladjustment of the outer end of said assembled frame means and the belts34 is made possible by appropriate adjustment means 68 of suitablenature, shown in FIG. 1, and thereby adapt the entrance end of the firstconveyor frame 22 to the discharge means of a re-wind machine, forexample, not shown.

WRAPPER-APPLYING UNIT The wrapper-applying unit 62 receives sheets ofheatshrinkable synthetic resin wrapper material of suitable type, ofwhich a number of different commercial kinds are available, from supplyrolls 70 and 72 thereof respectively mounted in the upper and lowerportions of the frame 10. Commercial rolls of such material, especiallyif or the order of 30 or 36 inches, for example,

may be as much as 8 or 10 inches in diameter. Rolls of this size arequite heavy and may be of as much as 50 or 60 pounds or more in weight.Accordingly, the present invention contemplates that said rolls will beuncoiled by power means. The rolls 70 and 72 of said materialrespectively rest upon pairs of rollers 74 and 76, each of the rollers74 being power driven by appropriate motors 78 through the medium ofsprocket chains 80. Said motors operate at appropriate speed. Rollers 74are provided with suitable flanges to position the supply rolls 70 and72 thereon axially and the rollers 76 are idlers. Said supply rolls aredriven intermittently by control means, details of which are describedhereinafter.

The upper web 82 of heat-shrinkable wrapper sheeting is fed over idlerrolls 84 in the upper portion of the frame of the machine, part of theweb extending around a take-up roll 86 which extends between the outerends of pivoted arms 88 which are counterweighted at one end but in suchmanner that the roll 86 is gravity operated so as to exert relativelylight weight upon the web 82 and take up any slack therein resultingfrom the intermittent consumption of the web while the same is fed atsuitable speed from the supply roll 70.

The lower web 90 of wrapper sheeting extends over idler roll 92 andaround take-up roll 94 which extends between a pair of pivoted arms 96which have counterweights on the ends thereof opposite the take-up roll94. The counter-weight is such, however, that the roll 94 primarilyoperates by gravity to take up the slack in the lower web 90. The outerends of the webs 82 and 90 are fused together to form a continuous webthat extends across the entire path of the oncoming coiled rolls 30 asshown in FIGS. 1 and 4. I

Intermittent driving of the supply rolls 70 and 72 is effected by limitswitches 98 provided with actuating arms 100 positioned to be engaged bythe counterweighted end of the pivoted arms 88 and 96. When theconsumption of the united webs 82 and 90 reaches a certain limit whicheffects elevation of the take-up rolls 86 and 94 to a predeterminedamount, the limit switches 98 are actuated to drive the supply rolls 70and 72 a predetermined amount adequate to cause lowering of the rolls 86and 94 to a desired extent which effects opening of the switches 98 andstopping of the driving of said supply rolls.

The wrapper-applying unit is provided with an upwardly movable,horizontally extending anvil jaw 102 and a downwardly movable heatingjaw 104 which are parallel to each other and are disposed commonlywithin a substantially vertical plane, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 6 and 7.Said jaws are actually composite and respectively are carried bytransversely extending supporting bars 106 and 108, best shown in FIG.3. The opposite ends of the supporting bars 106 and 108 are disposedwithin appropriate guides on the upright frame plates 12 at oppositesides of the machine. Said supporting bars and the jaws respectivelycarried thereby preferably are moved from vertically spaced positions ofthe jaws 102 and 104 to and from engagement of the faces of said jawsinto substantial abutment with each other, except for the webs ofwrapper sheeting 82 and 90, which are disposed in over-lappingrelationship with respect to each other between said abutting faces ofthe jaws, as shown in FIG. 7, for example.

Jaw 104 has an electrical resistance heating wire 110 extendingtherealong which is energized substantially instanteously by suitablecontrol means, not shown, which, when the jaws are in substantiallyabutting relationship, as shown in FIG. 7, operates to supply current tothe wire in suitable amount to substantially inst-anteously effectsevering of the overlying webs 82 and 90, sealing by fusion the edges ofthe portions of the thermo-plastic webs 82 and which have been severedby the heating wire so as to provide a loose wrapper around the coiledroll 30, and also unite by fusion the severed ends of the webs 82 and 90extending from the supply rolls so as to reconstitute the aforementionedsubstantially continuous web of thermo-plastic wrapper sheeting toextend across the path of the oncoming coiled rolls 30.

Movement of the supporting bars 106 and 108 in opposite directions withrespect to each other for purposes of carrying the jaws thereon to andfrom wrapper-sealing engagement is effected by commonly oper ated meanscomprising a pair of bell cranks 112 which are pivotally supported by across-frame member 114, as shown in FIG. 3, the upright portions thereofbeing connected by horizontal linkage 116, the right-hand end of which,as shown in FIG. 3, being connected to the upper end of another bellcrank 118 and vertical links 120 extending between and connecting thehorizontal arms of bell cranks 112 with the supporting bar 106.

The lower supporting bar 108 is supported and operated by a bell crank122 and a T-crank 124, similarly extending horizontal arms of which areconnected to vertical rods 126 which extend downward from the lowersupporting bar 108 and include compression springs shown in FIG. 3around rods 126 to provide yieldability between the engaging faces ofthe anvil and heating jaws I02 and 104.

The pivots of the bell crank 122 and T-crank 124 are supported byanother horizontal cross-frame member 128 and the downwardly extendinglegs of said cranks are connected by a horizontal rod 130. The oppositehorizontal rod 132 of T-crank 124 extends outwardly beyond one side ofthe machine and is connected to a vertical link 134, the upper end ofwhich is connected to the outer end of the horizontal leg of bell crank118 as clearly shown in FIG. 3.

The lower end of bell crank 122 is also connected to the outer end of apiston rod projecting from one end of a fluid-operated cylinder 136, theopposite end being connected to a horizontal supporting arm 138, whichis connected to one of the upright frame plates 12 as shown in FIG. 3.From said structure, it will be seen that when the piston in thecylinder 136 is operated in opposite directions, the supporting bars 106and 108 and the jaws respectively carried thereby will be moved towardand from each other simultaneously and engagement of said anvils will beof a cushion nature, due to the springs which surround the vertical rods126.

ROLL INSERTING MEANS The coiled rolls of sheet material 30 preferablyare rotatably moved at constant speed, in spaced relationship to eachother by means of the feed belts 34 which rotate the rolls relative tothe strips of compressible material 60 in a direction to preventunwinding of the material on said rolls. As the leading roll 30approaches the united web 91 of wrapper sheeting formed by fusing theend of webs 82 and 90 together, see FIG. 4, said roll passes beneath thescanning ray of a photo-electric unit 140, the ray being emitted frommeans projecting from the lower surfaces thereof as shown in FIGS. 1 and4. When said ray is intercepted by the leading roll 30, a control relay142, which is in circuit with cylinder unit 144 moves crank arm 146 andshaft 148 counterclockwise. Said shaft extends between bearingssupported by the vertical frame plates 12. Hubs on the upper ends of apair of pusher arms 150 are connected to shaft 148 and said arms extenddownward therefrom and terminate in means to support contact rolls 152,said supporting means being adjustable relative to the lower ends of thearms 150. Normally, the arms are disposed in the outermost phantomposition thereof shown in FIG. 4, and in which the contact rolls .152are disposed above the space between the strips 60 and conveyor feedbelts 34.

The function of the pusher arms 150 is to move from the fully retractedposition thereof, just described, down into the path of movement of therolls 30 as as to engage the trailing surface of the leading roll 30, asshown in full lines of the arm 150 in FIG. 4, and push said roll fromthe discharge end of the conveyor feed belt 34 onto a narrow, stationarysupport plate 154, which is best shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7. The arms 150then quickly return to the retracted position referred to above.

Intermediately of the pushing stroke of the arms 150, a jaw openinglimit switch 156 is closed by means of a cam 158 which is fixed to shaft148. Said switch operates a solenoid, not shown, which controls a valvethat directs operating fluid to the jaw-operating cylinder 136, shown inFIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 4, the cranks and linkage operated by thecylinder are not shown in their entirety for purposes of simplicity. Thecylinder 136, under such circumstances, is moved in a direction toextend the jaws to open position, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. I

The pusher cylinder 144 continues to move the roll 30 which results inpassing the roll between the spaced jaws 102 and 104 and onto the narrowstationary support plate 154 shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7. Said roll thencomes to rest for a short interval of time and is held upon the support154 by one end of each of a pair of similar horizontal, transverselyspaced stationary plates 160, the under surfaces of which are lined withstrips of compressible material 162. Thus, the roll 30, when restingupon the support plate 154, is effectively maintained in stationarycondition for application of a loosely fitting, axially sealed sleeve164, shown in FIG. 8, of the wrapper sheeting 82 and 90.

As the leading roll 30 enters the wrapper-applying unit 62, it firstintersects along its entire length the vertically extending,reconstituted web 91 composed of film 82, 90 and pushes the same withit, said sheeting paying off of the supply webs which pass around thetake-up rolls 86 and 94, until the roll comes to rest upon thestationary support 154. When this occurs, the pusher arms 150 will havemoved to their fullest extent toward the wrapper-applying unit 62 andanother switch 165, see FIG. 4, is closed to de-energize the con.- trolrelay 142. This, in turn, de-energizes the solenoid, not shown, whichcontrols the delivery of fluid to the pusher arm cylinder 144 andactuates it in a direction to return the pusher arms 1'50 quickly to thestarting position thereof, so that they are ready for the next strokewhen called upon for movement.

Approximately midway of the return stroke of the pusher arm cylinder144', the switch 156 is released and this causes the first-mentionedsolenoid valve referred to above, not shown, to become de-energized andthus cause the jaws to close, thereby bringing the webs ofwrapper'sheeting 82 and which extend around the faces of said jaws intoabutment with each other as shown in FIG. 7, whereupon the heating wireon jaw 104 is instantly energized to effect the severing of the webs,axial sealing of the edges of the web sections which surround the roll30, and reconstituting the other edges of the webs 82 and 90 so as toform said continuous web 91 to extend across the path of movement of therolls 30. At this stage,it is pointed out that the axial wrapper whichis sealed around the entire length of roll 30 is of a relatively loosenature and incapable of preventing uncoiling of the sheet material whichis tightly coiled upon a core, or is coreless, as it moves along thefeed belts 34 and also as it is held stationarily upon the support plate154. Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, the looselyapplied wrapper 164, as shown in FIG. 8, is subjected to longitudinallyextending, preferably electrically energized, heating members 166, oneor more of which are disposed in transversely spaced relationship toeach other with respect to the discharge conveyor belts 168 which extendaround suitable guide sheaves 170 and 172 at opposite ends of thebelt-supporting frame 174. Said belts also extending around drivingsheaves 176 and tightening sheaves 178 as shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 3, it will be seen that three heating members 166 areillustrated at locations spaced longitudinally along and above the rolls30 as they are moved by belts 168. If desired, however, only a singleheater may be used, midway between the ends of rolls 30, as shown inFIG. 2; Further, as shown in exemplary manner in FIG. 9, the heatingmembers 166 respectively may be mounted above the ends of rolls 30 toheat the outer ends of the loose wrapper 164, which initially projectbeyond the opposite ends of rolls 30.

The driving sheaves 176 for belts 168 are driven by an electric motor180 which is connected to a gear re duction unit 182 having a drivingsheave 184 around which a drive belt or sprocket chain 186 extends, saidbelt being maintained tight by a tightening roll 188 on lever meanswhich are maintained in tightening direction by spring means 190.

The discharge conveyor belts 168 are driven in the direction of thearrow shown in FIG. 1 to rotate the rolls 30 in a direction to continueto maintain the sheet material in coiled condition thereon, even thoughthe same are enclosed loosely within the wrapper 164.

The various selective arrangements of heating members 166 preferably arecontinuously heated and extend in close proximity. adjacent selectedportions of restricted width of the loosely applied wrapper 164 on eachof the rolls 30 disposed between the stationary plates 160 and thedischarge conveyor belts 168. Due to the wrapper being composed ofheat-shrinkable,

. thermo-plastic synthetic resin material, the heat emanating from theheating members 166 is adequate to progressively shrink said selectedportions 192 of the wrappers 164, as shown in FIG. 8, which areintermediate of the ends of the rolls 30. By the time the rolls reachthe discharge end of the conveyor belts 168, this shrinkage is adequateto cause said limited areas 192 and/or 198 to be in very closecontiguous engagement with the periphery of the tightly coiled sheetmaterial upon the rolls 30, whereby the elongated, otherwise loosewrappers 164 upon the rolls 30 may be moved to any desired location tosubject the same to heatshrinking in tunnels for such purpose, orotherwise, to effect complete shrinking ofthe entire sleeves 164 intocontiguous engagement with the rolls 30.

In addition to the shrinking of selected limited areas 192 of the loosewrapper 164, intermediate of the ends thereof, to provide one or more ofthe same which have been shrunk into close contiguous engagement withthe periphery of the coiled sheet material on the rolls 30, thearrangement of heating members 166 shown in FIG. 9, which produces theconstricted end areas 198 of the loose wrapper 164, provides severaldistinct ad vantages. The first is that the tight engagement of areas198 with the ends of the coiled material on rolls 30 will preventuncoiling thereof even if the entire intermediate portion of wrapper 164remains loose. The second advantage is that the constricted end portions198 which extend at least a limited distance radially over the ends ofthe rolls, as shown in exemplary manner in FIG. 11, will prevent thewrapper, when subjected to final shrinkage from having the ends of thewrapper pulled away from the ends of the rolls due to longitudianlshrinking of the wrapper.

As shown in FIG. 1, the heating members 166 are supported by overheadframe means 194 from which vertical struts 196 extend which areconnected to frame means 194 by means affording vertical adjustment ofmembers 166 relative to the rotating rolls 30 for desired shrinkage ofthe portions 192 and/or 198 in a short period of time.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention providesfor direct wrapping of a coiled roll while preventing uncoiling of theroll, whereby the cost of producing tightly wrapped rolls of sheetmaterial is minimized.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in its preferredembodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not to belimited to the precise details herein illustrated and described sincethe same may be carried out in other ways falling within the true spiritand scope of the invention as illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. A machine for wrapping rolls of sheet material coiled about an axisas received from a re-winding machine and unrestrained againstuncoiling, said machine comprising in combination, a frame, a firstconveyor having an entrance and an opposite end supported by said frameand defining a path along which coiled rolls of material are advancedfrom said entrance, power means to move said conveyor along said pathand away from said entrance, means operable as said coiled rolls areadvanced along said path to rotate them in a direction to maintain saidrolls in coiled condition, wrapperapplying mechanism including supportmeans positioned to receive said coiled rolls of material from saidfirst conveyor,- means to apply loosely around each roll of material aheat-shrinkable wrapper positioned between the opposite ends of saidrolls, means engageable with said rolls of coiled sheet material andoperable to move said rolls onto said supporting means, wrapper sealingmeans operable while said rolls are on said supporting means to sealsaid wrapper axially along the length thereof to enclose each roll forthe full length thereof, a second conveyor having a receiving endadjacent said wrapper-applying mechanism and defining a discharge pathfrom said sealing means, means operable as said coiled rolls andenclosing wrapper are moved along said path by said second conveyor torotate said rolls and wrapper continuously in a direction to maintainsaid rolls coiled within said wrapper. and heater means extending alongthe path of movement of said rolls upon said second conveyor atpredetermined locations operable to shrink at least one or more portionsof said loose wrapper into contiguous relationship with each roll tomaintain the same coiled within said wrapper prior to subsequentshrinking of the entire wrapper into such contiguous relationship withthe rolls.

2. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said wrappers havea width greater than the length of the rolls to permit the ends of saidwrapper to extend beyond the opposite ends of said coiled rolls ofmaterial, and a pair of said heater means being positionedlongitudinally in said machine respectively above the opposite endportions of said coiled rolls and loose wrappers thereon and therebyoperable to shrink at least the extending end portions of said wrappersinto contiguous engagement with the end portions of said coiled rollsand thereby prevent said rolls from uncoiling within said loosewrappers.

3. The wrapping machine according to claim 2 in which the end portionsof said wrappers which extend beyond the corresponding ends of the rollof material in each wrapper are shrunk to a smaller diameter than saidroll of material and thereby extend a limited distance in asubstantially radial direction relative to the ends of said roll ofmaterial and prevent said ends of said wrapper from being moved axiallyincident to final shrinking of said wrappers.

4. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said heater meansis positioned longitudinally relative to said discharge path of saidrolls intermediately between the ends of said rolls and operable toshrink at least a portion of said loose wrappers into contiguousrelationship with each roll to maintain the same coiled within saidloose wrapper.

5. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said heater meansare elongated and extend substantially in parallel spaced relationshipwith the longitudinal discharge path in said machine, said heater meansbeing continuous between the ends thereof.

6. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which saidwrapper-applying mechanism comprises an elongated anvil jaw and anelongated heating jaw cooperable with said anvil jaw, said jawsextending transversely to the longitudinal axes of said machine andbeing substantially horizontal, means interconnected to said jaws andoperable to effect relatively reciprocable movement thereof with respectto each other and being operable to engage spaced portions of a web ofheatshrinkable wrapper material when extended around a roll of sheetmaterial when disposed in said wrapperapplying mechanism, and saidsupporting means comprises a stationary plate extending substantially inparallelism with said jaws immediately adjacent the entrance end of saidsecond conveyor and operable to support a roll of coiled sheet materialstationarily thereon during operation of said jaws.

7. The wrapping machine according to claim 6'in which said secondconveyor comprises driven belt means and stationary elongated meansparallel to one course of said belt means and spaced therefrom to definea space through which said coiled rolls are rolled, the end of saidstationary elongated means which is nearest said jaws extendingsubstantially horizontally above said stationary supporting plate andbeing operable in conjunction with said supporting plate respectively toengage opposite surfaces of said rolls of coiled sheet material whilethe same are being enclosed by said wrapper and thereby stabilize saidrolls in stationary condition upon said supporting plate while thusbeing wrapped.

8. The wrapping machine according to claim 7 in which said means to movesaid rolls onto said supporting means from said first conveyor comprisepushing means movable in timed relation to the movement of said jaws andoperable to move individual rolls of said coiled sheet materialsequentially between said jawswhen separated and onto said stationarysupporting plate, such movement of a roll of said material onto saidsupporting plate being operable to push a previously wrapped roll fromsaid supporting plate and onto the receiving end of said second conveyorto reestablish rotation of said wrapped roll of coiled material formovement past said heater means.

9. The wrapping machine according to claim 6 in which said meansengageable with said rolls of material to the same onto said stationarysupporting plate comprises pusher arm means extending radially from ashaft mounted horizontally and transversely to the longitudinal axis ofthe machine, means rotatably supporting said shaft vertically spacedfrom the discharge end of said first conveyor and operable to engage aroll of coiled material at longitudinally spaced locations along saidroll to prevent skewing thereof incident to being introduced to saidwrapper-applying mechanism, said machine also including actuating meanssupported upon said machine and engageable with said shaft and operableupon the arrival of a roll of said material adjacent the discharge endof said first conveyor to move said pusher arm means in a direction toadvance said roll between said jaws whenv spaced and onto said narrowstationary supporting plate, and control means operable to retract saidpusher arm means from interference with advancement of subsequent rollsof coiled material upon said first conveyor.

10. The wrapping machine according to claim 9 further includingsensitive means responsive to the passage of rolls past the same andpositioned adjacent the discharge end of said first conveyor, andcontrol means for said shaft actuating means operable when a roll passessaid sensitive means to effect movement of said pusher arm means to movea roll from said first conveyor onto said narrow stationary supportingplate.

11. The wrapping machine according to .claim 10 further including limitswitch means interconnected to said jaw moving means and operable whensaid arm means are in retracted position to control the time in whichsaid jaws are in sealing engagement with wrapping material extendingaround a roll of coiled material disposed within said wrapper-applyingmechanism.

12. The wrapping machine according to claim 11 further'including afluid-operated cylinder unit interconnected to one of said jaws, andfluid control means interconnected to said cylinder unit and to saidlimit switch operated by said arm means to control the movement of atleast one of said jaws toward and from the other.

13. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 further including supportmeans respectively positioned above and below said conveyors andrespectively adapted to support supply rolls of said wrapper sheeting tobe applied to said rolls of coiled material, and powered driving meansrespectively engaging said sup ply rolls of wrapper sheeting andoperable to drive said rolls at a substantially constant speed, andtake-up control means engageable with the wrapper sheeting respectivelybeing paid-off from said supply rolls for de livery to said anvils andperiodically moved into encirclement of said coiled rolls of material,thereby compensating for the constant speed of driving said supply rollsof wrapper sheeting and the periodic consumption thereof.

14. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said wrappersealing means comprise elongated anvil and heating jaws of similarlength and supported transversely to said path of movement of said rollsand adapted to be moved toward and from each other, one of said jawsbeing below said path and the other being above said path when said jawsare spaced to permit passage of said rolls therebetween, and saidmachine further including sets of angular linkage means supported bysaid frame at transversely spaced positions and connected tolongitudinally spaced locations on said jaws to support the samehorizontally in all vertical positions of said jaws, one of said sets ofangulur linkage means being mounted above said path of said rolls andthe other set being mounted below said path, additional linkage meansinterconnecting said sets of angulur linkage means for common actuationthereof to move said jaws simultaneously toward and from each other, andpower means connected to said additional linkage means to actuate thesame.

1. A machine for wrapping rolls of sheet material coiled about an axis as received from a re-winding machine and unrestrained against uncoiling, said machine comprising in combination, a frame, a first conveyor having an entrance and an opposite end supported by said frame and defining a path along which coiled rolls of material are advanced from said entrance, power means to move said conveyor along said path and away from said entrance, means operable as said coiled rolls are advanced along said path to rotate them in a direction to maintain said rolls in coiled condition, wrapper-applying mechanism including support means positioned to receive said coiled rolls of material from said first conveyor, means to apply loosely around each roll of material a heat-shrinkable wrapper positioned between the opposite ends of said rolls, means engageable with said rolls of coiled sheet material and operable to move said rolls onto said supporting means, wrapper sealing means operable while said rolls are on said suPporting means to seal said wrapper axially along the length thereof to enclose each roll for the full length thereof, a second conveyor having a receiving end adjacent said wrapper-applying mechanism and defining a discharge path from said sealing means, means operable as said coiled rolls and enclosing wrapper are moved along said path by said second conveyor to rotate said rolls and wrapper continuously in a direction to maintain said rolls coiled within said wrapper, and heater means extending along the path of movement of said rolls upon said second conveyor at predetermined locations operable to shrink at least one or more portions of said loose wrapper into contiguous relationship with each roll to maintain the same coiled within said wrapper prior to subsequent shrinking of the entire wrapper into such contiguous relationship with the rolls.
 2. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said wrappers have a width greater than the length of the rolls to permit the ends of said wrapper to extend beyond the opposite ends of said coiled rolls of material, and a pair of said heater means being positioned longitudinally in said machine respectively above the opposite end portions of said coiled rolls and loose wrappers thereon and thereby operable to shrink at least the extending end portions of said wrappers into contiguous engagement with the end portions of said coiled rolls and thereby prevent said rolls from uncoiling within said loose wrappers.
 3. The wrapping machine according to claim 2 in which the end portions of said wrappers which extend beyond the corresponding ends of the roll of material in each wrapper are shrunk to a smaller diameter than said roll of material and thereby extend a limited distance in a substantially radial direction relative to the ends of said roll of material and prevent said ends of said wrapper from being moved axially incident to final shrinking of said wrappers.
 4. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said heater means is positioned longitudinally relative to said discharge path of said rolls intermediately between the ends of said rolls and operable to shrink at least a portion of said loose wrappers into contiguous relationship with each roll to maintain the same coiled within said loose wrapper.
 5. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said heater means are elongated and extend substantially in parallel spaced relationship with the longitudinal discharge path in said machine, said heater means being continuous between the ends thereof.
 6. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said wrapper-applying mechanism comprises an elongated anvil jaw and an elongated heating jaw cooperable with said anvil jaw, said jaws extending transversely to the longitudinal axes of said machine and being substantially horizontal, means interconnected to said jaws and operable to effect relatively reciprocable movement thereof with respect to each other and being operable to engage spaced portions of a web of heat-shrinkable wrapper material when extended around a roll of sheet material when disposed in said wrapper-applying mechanism, and said supporting means comprises a stationary plate extending substantially in parallelism with said jaws immediately adjacent the entrance end of said second conveyor and operable to support a roll of coiled sheet material stationarily thereon during operation of said jaws.
 7. The wrapping machine according to claim 6 in which said second conveyor comprises driven belt means and stationary elongated means parallel to one course of said belt means and spaced therefrom to define a space through which said coiled rolls are rolled, the end of said stationary elongated means which is nearest said jaws extending substantially horizontally above said stationary supporting plate and being operable in conjunction with said supporting plate respectively to engage opposite surfaces of said rolls of coiled sheet material while the same are being enclosed by said wrapper anD thereby stabilize said rolls in stationary condition upon said supporting plate while thus being wrapped.
 8. The wrapping machine according to claim 7 in which said means to move said rolls onto said supporting means from said first conveyor comprise pushing means movable in timed relation to the movement of said jaws and operable to move individual rolls of said coiled sheet material sequentially between said jaws when separated and onto said stationary supporting plate, such movement of a roll of said material onto said supporting plate being operable to push a previously wrapped roll from said supporting plate and onto the receiving end of said second conveyor to re-establish rotation of said wrapped roll of coiled material for movement past said heater means.
 9. The wrapping machine according to claim 6 in which said means engageable with said rolls of material to the same onto said stationary supporting plate comprises pusher arm means extending radially from a shaft mounted horizontally and transversely to the longitudinal axis of the machine, means rotatably supporting said shaft vertically spaced from the discharge end of said first conveyor and operable to engage a roll of coiled material at longitudinally spaced locations along said roll to prevent skewing thereof incident to being introduced to said wrapper-applying mechanism, said machine also including actuating means supported upon said machine and engageable with said shaft and operable upon the arrival of a roll of said material adjacent the discharge end of said first conveyor to move said pusher arm means in a direction to advance said roll between said jaws when spaced and onto said narrow stationary supporting plate, and control means operable to retract said pusher arm means from interference with advancement of subsequent rolls of coiled material upon said first conveyor.
 10. The wrapping machine according to claim 9 further including sensitive means responsive to the passage of rolls past the same and positioned adjacent the discharge end of said first conveyor, and control means for said shaft actuating means operable when a roll passes said sensitive means to effect movement of said pusher arm means to move a roll from said first conveyor onto said narrow stationary supporting plate.
 11. The wrapping machine according to claim 10 further including limit switch means interconnected to said jaw moving means and operable when said arm means are in retracted position to control the time in which said jaws are in sealing engagement with wrapping material extending around a roll of coiled material disposed within said wrapper-applying mechanism.
 12. The wrapping machine according to claim 11 further including a fluid-operated cylinder unit interconnected to one of said jaws, and fluid control means interconnected to said cylinder unit and to said limit switch operated by said arm means to control the movement of at least one of said jaws toward and from the other.
 13. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 further including support means respectively positioned above and below said conveyors and respectively adapted to support supply rolls of said wrapper sheeting to be applied to said rolls of coiled material, and powered driving means respectively engaging said supply rolls of wrapper sheeting and operable to drive said rolls at a substantially constant speed, and take-up control means engageable with the wrapper sheeting respectively being paid-off from said supply rolls for delivery to said anvils and periodically moved into encirclement of said coiled rolls of material, thereby compensating for the constant speed of driving said supply rolls of wrapper sheeting and the periodic consumption thereof.
 14. The wrapping machine according to claim 1 in which said wrapper sealing means comprise elongated anvil and heating jaws of similar length and supported transversely to said path of movement of said rolls and adapted to be moved toward and from each other, one of said jaws being below said path and the other being above said path when said jaws are spaced to permit passage of said rolls therebetween, and said machine further including sets of angular linkage means supported by said frame at transversely spaced positions and connected to longitudinally spaced locations on said jaws to support the same horizontally in all vertical positions of said jaws, one of said sets of angulur linkage means being mounted above said path of said rolls and the other set being mounted below said path, additional linkage means interconnecting said sets of angulur linkage means for common actuation thereof to move said jaws simultaneously toward and from each other, and power means connected to said additional linkage means to actuate the same. 